Buzzards and Hummingbirds
I have a hobby that my older brother says is one step from alzheimers. I watch birds. I have 5 bird feeders in the backyard and I've discovered great joy in watching those creatures who "neither sow nor reap nor store away in barns, and yet, (our) heavenly Father feeds them." At least twice, Jesus used birds to teach the principles of trust and God's provision. (Matthew 6:26ff & Matthew 10:29)
My fascination with birds, spiritual issues, and practical faith and led me to a conclusion. Sitting on my back porch, I've watched hummingbirds dart from feeder to flowers and back, extracting the sweet nectar that energizes them. Driving the roads of Colleton County, I've observed plenty of buzzards picking away at some road kill carcass. They mount themselves on a tree limb or power pole, just waiting for some poor creature to meet an untimely end. Then they pick over the remains.
Think about it! One seeks out the sweet and beautiful while the other waits with anticipation, seeking deterioration and death.
Ok, Zane! What are you talking about here? I'm talking about attitude. Most of us find what we're looking for in life. If we're looking for good, we find good. If we're looking for repulsive, we'll find it. It's a principle that's true in family life, church life, work life, and social life. More often than not, we find just what we're looking for. If we approach a job expecting to find boredom, emptiness, and pressure, they will be there. If we expect it to be a means of honoring God, that's what it will become. If we expect the demands of marriage and family to be confining, demeaning, and disenchanting, they will be there. But if we see those relationships as liberating, encouraging, and fulfilling, that's what they'll become. If we go to church expecting it to be dull, ordinary, and meaningless, it will be. But if we go expecting to meet the holy God, experience the joy of salvation, and be strengthened for the stresses of life, that's what we'll find.
Now, this isn't just about the "power of positive thinking." It's about making a conscious decision to be a "good-finder." It's about becoming a hummingbird instead of buzzard. Paul encouraged the Colossian Christians in everything they did " . . . whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." (Colossians 3:17) He reminded the Corinthian Christians in I Corinthians 10:31 that " . . . whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
Negativity, pessimism, grumbling, and maliciousness dishonor God and dishearten people. Optimism, faith, contentment, and kindness attract, strengthen and encourage others. Think about it. Which one would you want to hang around? In your church life, on your job, in your family life . . . are you looking for the right things?
